Do I Really Need Cricut Access?

Ever wondered if the benefits of Cricut Access outweigh the cost? Do I Really Need Cricut Access to create projects in Cricut Design Space? Read more about it in this post. This post may contain affiliate links.

Since talking about my love for the Cricut Explore Air, a few friends and readers have purchased this handy dandy crafting machine. The most common question that I receive isn’t about cutting card stock or which vinyl to buy, but rather it’s, “Do I REALLY need Cricut Access?”

Cricut Access is a monthly subscription plan that gives users a wider range of images from which to choose when making a project. The subscription page boosts of “unlimited access to over 30,000 images, over 1,000 Make It Now™ projects, and 370 fonts, ” but is it really worth the $7.99 a month price?

If you’ve arrive here looking for a resounding “YES!” or “NO!” then you’re going to find that the answer is not cookie cutter. In my experience, the need for Cricut Access varies from person to person, depending on the user.

Do I feel limited by the number of “free” images in the Cricut image library?

Does my child(ren) use Cricut Design Space for school projects? (This might sound crazy, but even my elementary aged daughter uses it. She is only 7, but she knows how to type text and print it on card stock for poster board presentations. If your kids aren’t using it for school projects, teach them how!)

Do I like the Make It Now projects? (These are awesome, by the way! Why sit around designing a project when someone else already has?)

Would I be more likely to make personalized gifts for others for holidays and special occasions if I had access to more images?

If you answered “yes” to at least two of the above questions, then purchasing the Cricut Access plan may be beneficial to you! Let’s take a look at why.

For instance, we are nearing the month of October. It’s officially pumpkin season! From pumpkin shirts to pumpkin carving, there is a plethora of of pumpkin projects just waiting to be made! If you do not have Cricut Access, here are the FREE pumpkin images available for use.

Hmmm….limited choices, no?

For those with Cricut Access, the choices widen considerably! These screen shots are just two of the pages; there are many more! I can see myself using my Cricut every day with this wide range of images. The pumpkin carving faces are too cute!

For me, I use my Cricut at least a few times a week. Last weekend, I used it for 4 projects, and my daughter used it for a school project. I currently have 3 projects saved in my queue waiting to be cut. For over half of these projects, I’m using an image that I would have had to pay for individually had I not had Cricut Access.

Still wondering if it’s right for you? Try your hand at these questions:

If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, then Cricut Access may not be for you! OR you may simply want to subscribe by the month.

That’s right! You can subscribe yearly or monthly. For instance, you may want to subscribe for the month of October to have access to all the pumpkin carving faces or pumpkin stencils. Both the yearly and monthly subscriptions come with 10% off purchases on Cricut.com and Design Space.

I was about to purchase the Cricut Access because I found the free coupons and the free 2 week trial showed me that I really would use it. But my question is this: Supposedly Cricut is about to make some huge change to Cricut Access. Do you have any information about this? And how would it affect my subscription? Thank you in advance for your help.

Hi! I checked with someone at Cricut, and here is the response that I received:
“Upcoming changes will not affect existing subscriptions, and anyone who has the current version of Cricut Access will have the opportunity to change to the new options at any time if they would like. We’re unable to release the specific details of what the changes will include until it is officially announced, though.”
Hope that helps, Marge!

Enjoyed your article. I do have a large collection of cartridges but I also have a large collection of sag files and computer fonts. With all of this I was thinking I really wouldn’t need the subscription. Also have a silhouette with a large library of files which I believe with the designer edition I can export as sag files. Would you please comment on this?? Thanks.

Hi, Lucy! Anything that you can download as a SVG file you can upload to use in Cricut Design Space. I’m not familiar with the Silhouette Designer Edition. I’ve used a Silhouette in the past, but I never experimented with it to try downloading anything, so I’m not sure what the Designer Edition will let you download. But if you try it, and it downloads as a SVG file, then you can upload it to the Cricut Design Space. However, STUDIO files will not be Cricut Design Space compatible.
Yes, definitely link your cartridges to Cricut Design Space. I need to do this myself! If you have a large collection, then you may not need the monthly subscription.
Hope this answers your question!

I find everything I need from the internet. i have downloaded hundreds of free svg files and free fonts. Dafont.com is the best place for free fonts. I do not have Cricut Access and I feel like I am not really missing out.

Hi, I am not familiar with the Cricut Craft Room. I have only used the stand alone cartridges or the Cricut Design Space. I know that in Cricut Design Space that I can use fonts that I have downloaded from other places (like DaFont), but I am not sure about the Cricut Craft Room since it is different software. However, I did find another article from a different blogger, and she stated in the comments that Craft Room does NOT allow imported fonts. http://sewwoodsy.com/2012/08/how-to-use-cricut-craft-room.html#comment-45546

This was very helpful. Thank you very much. I use design space almost everyday. The yearly membership is definitely the way to go for me. My subscription runs out every year around Mother’s Day so that is my Moms day gift!!!

I’m the same. Being in graphic design I find no use for Access. Do you use Illustrator? Also, do you ever have issues with fonts? One more question, does Design Space only work with internet access because it runs on their servers or is it that it runs through a browser? Thank you.

I’m not sure how would I do that? I have an “á” in my name and yet I can’t get the accent mark when I’m using the scripts. It shows it in the text box but it doesn’t show up on the screen that way. Any ideas. It’s hard to word it correctly so I hope you understand what I’m trying to say.

Hi, Maria, I checked and the only thing that I can figure out is that you may need to “hack” the symbol. In other words, use an apostrophe in a text box that you place over the letter and then attach to the word. Does that make sense? I also had someone mention using the character map on your computer, but it sounds like you may have tried that?

Note that the tutorial is on the computer only. I am an Android user, so I do not have access to the app on the phone/iPad, but you could try the method in the tutorial to see if it works if you are using an iPhone/iPad.

This was exactly what I have been looking for! I hate spending money, especially on something that I’m not sure I’ll even use. My husband got me a cricut for Christmas and so far I’ve made many things with it! Of course, just two days ago my Access trial ran out. After reading this and answering the questions appropriately I’ve decided to just go ahead and do it!! All of the extra options are well worth it.

Hi! No, unfortunately, they would not. You would only have access to the images and fonts while subscribing to the plan. However, any images and fonts that you purchase individually would be permanent.

Hi! Yes,there are lots of available baby-related files. It is also great for different fonts. If you are wanting to do mainly worded shirts, there is now a Cricut Font Subscription, too, that is a bit cheaper (you can read about that here: http://ithappensinablink.com/which-cricut-access-plan-is-right-for-me/ ). You can always subscribe for a month and see if you use it as much as you think that you will before committing to a full year.

Hi, The Access subscription is aligned with Design Space, not necessarily the machine. So as long as your machine will work with Design Space, then you can use any of the subscriptions. You do not need to own the corresponding cartridge to cut an Access image. However, some images will have a fee (if you are not using Access or do not have that cartridge linked). If you own the cartridge and link it to your account, then you can bypass these fees. You can read about linking cartridges here: http://ithappensinablink.com/how-to-link-cricut-cartridges-to-cricut-design-space/

I am a newbie to the Cricut world… I thought I did not need Access because I have used computer based design programs.. but as a new user I found out that making the projects using the Access subscription was well worth the cost… it helped me get to know my machine and boosted my confidence in making more complex designs.

Thank you so much for this information. I have wanted a Cricut machine for awhile, but have hesitated because I didn’t want to be stuck paying a monthly fee for access. I already have cartridges that I love and probably would not even expand to the access. I only use it for scrapbooking now, (which takes me about a month out of the year)

I was wondering. If you subscribe to it a month here a month there. Do you get to keep the images or are they just available during your paid month? Or can you purchase an image here and there when needed?

Hi, The access images are only available while you are a subscriber. Even if you use an image while you are a subscriber, if you do not subscribe the next month, then you would not have access to that image unless you paid for it. Any images that you pay for individually are yours whether you are subscribed or not.

Hi, you may have covered this but I’ve read so many comments that I can’t remember. Are all of the Cricut cartridges available in Design Space? If not, how do I find out which are and are not?
Thank you in advance for your help. 🙂

Any cartridge that can be “linked” is available in Design Space. I have been using a Cricut since the Expression, and all of those cartridges linked (meaning the images were available in design Space and just had to be linked to my account.

So I have had the yearly subscription for two years and I do like having it. There are other benifits to having the access. You also receive a 10% discounts when you purchase on the Cricut.com website.

I did often use the access because it gave me more options and I also used it to get the 10% discount when I purchased cartridges and materials.

The other thing to consider thoughis that you can search online for jpeg images and upload to your Cricut project for free, which I did often as well and you don’t need the subscription.

This didn’t cover the part about what if I have my own graphics and have no need for Access? I am looking to see if I can use it without it and I guess the answer is yes. I already have access to thousands of graphics via sites like freepik and vecteezy. I just need to know that I can use them without having to have Access, otherwise, it’s one expensive brick. The Design Space being online only is another horrible idea that I am not too fond of. Thanks.

Thank you for your article, it was very helpful… unfortunately I am very frustrated at the moment. I have been attempting to use the Android app on my phone. I don’t have internet access right now to use my laptop. I also have an Android tablet but it’s OS is not new enough. My question is would it be beneficial to get an iPad or internet for laptop. Can you download free fonts and images on iPad? Any input would be greatly appreciated

Hi, I’ll be totally honest– I only use Design Space on my laptop. I have a hard time working on a mobile device, and not all the aspects of Design Space that are available on a laptop are on mobile. I find it difficult to visualize my project and work on mobile. I actually downloaded the app on my phone and then deleted it. Of course, this is all personal preference. I know several people who only use the Design Space on mobile.
As far as the free fonts and images, if you use Design Space Access, then those images are in the Design Space system and are not stored on the iPad. Images that you download from another source can be uploaded to Design Space (and then deleted from your phone if you wanted). However, the fonts are not uploaded. Rather, Design Space pulls them from your computer when you are using the text function. Therefore, the fonts would have to be stored on the device. A mobile device would not be able to store nearly as many fonts as a laptop would.
These are the reasons my preference would be to have a laptop. But it is all in what you become accustomed to using.

Cheers! My husband got me a cricut maker for Xmas. I have been using it a lot without Cricut Access. My husband installed the cricut app on my iPad. So my big question is “do I really need the Cricut Access subscription.” I understand the access gives you more choices, but are these choices then free? Do I still need to purchase them? Also, I’ve been doing the projects. Will the projects then be free? Will I still be required to purchase projects in addition to the subscription fee? Thanks for your help. ; )

Hi, once you have the access subscription, the choices provided within that subscription do not have a charge. Many of the projects are free, though not all of them may be. Each project uses different images and fonts, and if the images and fonts used in that project are in the Cricut Access subscription, then the project will be free. The images and fonts available in the Cricut Access subscription are plentiful. I’ve never had to pay for any additional images because the choices in Cricut Access are so substantial.

I am new to the Cricut scene. Learning how to use my Explore Air 2. My question is: can I use images from Cricut Access for items I plan to sell or is there a different option for accessing images for commercial use?

No, I do not. Cricut Design Space pulls them all into their software, and other than dividing them between system fonts and Cricut fonts there is not really a way to organize them within the Design Space software.

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